Old/New Testament
Chapter 27
David’s Flight to the Philistines.[a] 1 David thought to himself, “One of these days I will perish at Saul’s hands. I might as well escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul will give up hope of catching me anywhere in the territory of Israel, and I will escape out of his hand.”
2 David and his six hundred followers went over to Achish, the son of Maoch, the king of Gath. 3 David stayed with Achish at Gath. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam, the Jezreelite, and Abigail, Nabal’s wife, of Carmel. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he did not go out after him anymore.
5 David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your sight, then let me be given a place in one of your country towns to live. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” 6 That day Achish gave him Ziklag. Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah up to the present. 7 David lived in the territory of the Philistines for one year and four months.
David’s Raids. 8 David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites. (From the days of old these were the people who lived in the land running from Shur down to the land of Egypt.) 9 When David attacked a place, he did not leave a man or a woman alive. He took the sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and clothes, and he would then return to Achish.
10 [b]When Achish would ask, “Where have you gone raiding today,” David would say to him, “To the south of Judah, or to the south of the Jerahmeelites, or to the south of the Kenites.”
11 David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring them to Gath, for he thought they might say, “This is what David did.” He did this the whole time that he was living among the Philistines. 12 Achish trusted David saying, “He has become so utterly hateful to his people, Israel, that he will be my servant forever.”
Chapter 28
1 In those days the Philistines gathered together their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “Know that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.” 2 David said to Achish, “Then you will know for sure what your servant can do.” Achish said to David, “You will, therefore, be my bodyguard from now on.”
3 Samuel was dead, and all of Israel had mourned for him and had buried him in Ramah, his own city. Saul had expelled mediums and wizards from out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled together and went and camped at Shunem. Saul gathered together all of Israel and they camped at Gilboa. 5 [c]When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid, and his heart trembled. 6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him in dreams, or by the Urim, or through the prophets.
Saul and the Medium. 7 Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium so that I can go to her and inquire of her.” His servants answered, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.” 8 Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes. He went with two men, and they came to the woman by night. He said, “Please consult a spirit for me, bring up the one whose name I give you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done, how he has expelled mediums and wizards out of the land. Why would you set a trap for my life, bringing on my death?” 10 Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord saying, “As the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.” 11 The woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you,” and he answered, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
12 Samuel Appears. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me, Saul?” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid! What did you see?” She said to Saul, “I saw a spirit coming up from the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What does he look like?” She said, “An old man wearing a robe came up.” Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated his face to the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you bothered me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned against me. He does not answer me anymore, either by prophets or by dreams. I have called upon you so that you can make known to me what I should do.” 16 Samuel said, “Why do you question me now that the Lord has turned against you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done for himself exactly what he predicted through me. The Lord has ripped the kingdom out of your hand, and he has given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 You did not heed the voice of the Lord nor enact his fierce rage against Amalek. Therefore, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 19 The Lord will hand over both you and Israel into the hands of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
20 The Medium Feeds Saul. Saul fell full length upon the ground for he was terrified because of what Samuel had said. His strength was gone, for he had not eaten anything all day and night. 21 When the woman came up to Saul and saw that he was greatly troubled, she said to him, “Look, your handmaid has obeyed your command. I have taken my life in my hands when I did what you had ordered me to do. 22 Therefore, please heed the voice of your handmaid. Let me give you something to eat, and then you will have the strength to go on your way.” 23 [d]He refused and said, “I will not eat!”
But both his servants and the woman kept urging him, and he finally listened to them. He got up off the ground and sat on the couch. 24 The woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she quickly killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it, and baked it into loaves of unleavened bread. 25 She set it before Saul and his servants. They ate, and then they got up and went on their way that night.
Chapter 29
The Philistines Reject David. 1 The Philistines gathered all of their forces together at Aphek. The Israelites camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 The lords of the Philistines were marching along with their units of hundreds and thousands while David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.
3 The lords of the Philistines said, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied to the lords of the Philistines, “Is this not David, a servant of Saul, the king of the Israel? He has been with me these days, these years. I have found no fault in him since he came to me up until the present.”
4 The lords of the Philistines were angry with him, and the lords of the Philistines said to him, “Send that man back, let him go back to the place where you have assigned him. Do not let him go into battle with us, lest he turn against us during the battle. What other way could he reconcile to his master if not with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not the David of whom they sang while they were dancing, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David has killed his ten thousands.’ ”
6 So Achish summoned David and said, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright with me. You have done well in your going out and your coming back with your army. From the day you came to me up to the present, I have found nothing wrong in you. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. 7 Therefore, go back, and leave in peace, so that you not displease the lords of the Philistines.”
8 David said to Achish, “But what have I done? As long as I have been with you, up until now, have you found anything in your servant that would explain why I am not able to go to fight against the enemies of my lord, the king?” 9 Achish answered David, “I consider you to be as good as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the lords of the Philistines have said, ‘He will not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now, therefore, rise up early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. Get up at daybreak and depart.”
11 David and his men arose in the morning, and they left for the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Chapter 13
Jesus Calls for Repentance.[a] 1 At that time, some people who were present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because the Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower fell on them at Siloam—do you think that they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you—but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.[b] 6 Then he told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, but whenever he came looking for fruit on it, he found none. 7 Therefore, he said to his vinedresser, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue to use up the soil?’ 8 But the vinedresser replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year while I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 Perhaps it will bear fruit next year. If so, well and good. If not, then you can cut it down.’ ”
10 Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath.[c] On one Sabbath as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, 11 a woman was present, possessed by a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and completely unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” 13 Then he laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
14 But the leader of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had effected a cure on the Sabbath, and he said to the assembled people, “There are six days when work is permitted. Come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord said to him in reply, “You hypocrites! Is there a single one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey and lead it from its stall to give it water on the Sabbath? 16 Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has held bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath?” 17 At these words, all his adversaries were put to shame, and the people rejoiced at all the wonderful things he was doing.
18 The Parable of the Mustard Seed.[d]He went on to say, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
20 The Parable of the Yeast. Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until it was completely leavened.”
The Destiny of Israel
22 Who Will Enter into the Kingdom of God?[e] Jesus continued journeying through towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
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